Oak Grove School District faces multi‑year budget shortfalls as special‑education costs rise

Mark Evans, the associate superintendent of business for the Oak Grove School District, told parents and staff that the district is facing multi‑year budget shortfalls driven by declining enrollment and rising special‑education and contracted‑service costs.

Evans said the district adopted a June 2024 budget that anticipated about $136,000,000 in revenue and about $153,000,000 in expenditures, producing a roughly $16,800,000 deficit. By the district's December first‑interim report the deficit had grown to about $19,600,000, in part because of carry‑forwards and staffing timing. "We did a transfer in from a special reserve," he said, adding that about $3,100,000 was used to cover a recent math textbook adoption.

Why it matters: Oak Grove's available unassigned cash has shrunk and much of the district's ending fund balance is restricted, limiting management options. Evans said the district's ending fund balance fell from about $31.5 million at budget adoption to about $28.6 million at first interim, and that unassigned cash dropped from roughly $4.3 million to about $1.6 million…